Blitzkrieg by James Holland

Author:James Holland
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781405929479
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 2018-02-13T16:00:00+00:00

HMS Glowworm rams the Admiral Hipper.

Despite the questionable strategy, the German invasion of Denmark and Norway was none the less brilliantly planned and executed. Denmark fell in a matter of hours as German Fallschirmjäger dropped from the sky in what was the first ever use of paratroopers in action. At the same time, ground troops stormed ashore in five simultaneous landings. In Norway, further airborne troops and landings, supported by large numbers of air forces, also quickly overwhelmed any resistance. Oslo, the capital, fell that day, 9 April.

Britain hurriedly sent reinforcements, but they lacked support from the air as well as any heavy firepower, and, despite trying to meet the German drive northwards, were soon pushed back. Only at Narvik, in the far north, was a joint British and French force successful. Eventually, however, in June, they were compelled to evacuate even this small foothold. On the ground, and with much shorter lines of supply than the Allies, the Germans swiftly swept over most of the country.

At sea, however, it was a very different story. The size and training of the Royal Navy soon inflicted a hammer-blow on the German Navy, the Kriegsmarine: half the German destroyer force was sunk, as were one of two heavy cruisers, two of six light cruisers and six U-boats. Other vessels were badly damaged, leaving Germany with a much-depleted navy capable of achieving little. On top of that, the Luftwaffe lost 242 aircraft in the campaign – machines and crew that would be needed in the summer to come.

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